As a child, Donna studied ballet for several years and had performed with the New York City Ballet. Donna studied theater arts in college and had a brief acting career before turning to photography. She photographed a pictorial for Playboy for the April 1974 issue called "Donna Clicks."

In 2003, the Caribbean island nation of Grenada honored Playboy magazine's 50th anniversary with a series of postage stamps. Donna's May 1964 cover photo graces one of those stamps.

Michelle died on 9 April 2004 in Ukiah, California. She suffered a heart attack while shopping at a local supermarket.